In both
healthy human subjects and Alzheimer disease patients acetylcholinesterase
inhibitors increased rCMRglc and rCBF in subcortical and cortical brain
regions at rest but attenuated rCBF increases during cognitive performances.

Hence, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors may enhance cognition and rCMRglc
by acting primarily on subcortical regions that are involved in attentional
(i.e. thalamus) and memory (i.e. hippocampus) processes; such an effect
probably is not specific for Alzheimer disease and can be beneficial in
patients suffering from a wide array of neuropsychiatric disorders.